Friday, October 5, 2012

Man Of Steel

This wasn't the original master of metal a Marvel hero would face.
Who was the very first?

Well, I can give you a quick visual:

But aside from that, I've already given you a major hint.

His villain name apparently didn't require a lot of thought:

You can just feel Earthlings everywhere trembling, can't you?

The Metal Master actually appeared on the scene about a year before Magneto first appeared in X-Men with his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. He had the unfortunate distinction of being the villain in the final issue of the short-lived Incredible Hulk series that lasted only six issues before it was cancelled.

Believe it or not, it took the Hulk awhile to dispose of him--mostly because Metal Master had the good fortune to stay out of the Hulk's reach. He came from a peaceful race that basically made sculptures out of metal, and he wasn't exactly content with spending his time doing that. (Would you be?) So he thought he'd take up conquering and ruling, instead--which led to his race branding him a criminal and exiling him. He wandered around space a long time, looking for a planet rich in metallic resources to conquer, before finally discovering Earth.

Metal Master encountered the Hulk, and after briefly battling him he levitated off to begin his conquering. Before long, he'd shown all of Earth what he could do:

No, I don't know how he made that metal plate he's standing on fly, either. As far as I know, his power was limited to reshaping metal--but apparently he could have it defy gravity, as well. *shrug*

Anyway, this guy was sent packing when he made the mistake of letting the Hulk get close enough to grab him--then he folded like a house of cards, pleading with the Hulk not to strike him. Hmph. Some master.

This issue of Incredible Hulk did have a couple of noteworthy distinctions, though. It was when Rick first formed his "Teen Brigade" that was later featured in Avengers:

"Reet"?

Don't look at me, I have no idea.

Also, because the Teen Brigade made it known that it was the Hulk who saved the Earth from the Metal Master, this issue marked the first time the Hulk was pardoned. That wouldn't happen again for years down the road, when Bruce Banner's brain was in control. Banner, at that point, was grateful that the days of his being hunted were seemingly over. Yet this first time, the Hulk is less than thrilled with the idea:

If nothing else, the Metal Master paved the way for one of Marvel's greatest and most classic villains in the person of Magneto, even though in his beginnings Magneto was about as two-dimensional as the Metal Master. If the Metal Master had worn a cool helmet, who knows, he might still be around. Instead, he remains in limbo--though by this time, he's probably not a bad sculptor.